Disclaimer: All rights to CSI still belong to CBS and their creators.
AN: Sorry for the delay in posting, but it took a bunch of revisions to get this to this point. With luck the next chapter will be posted in the next few days. Thanks for hanging in there!
Flipping open one of the magazines to the place marked, Sara glanced from the article about choosing a reception site to the man sitting next to her. Stunned she found herself staring at him; it was like suddenly in the last twelve hours he'd been abducted by aliens and replaced by someone she didn't recognize. It was hard not to shake him and demand to know who he was and what he'd done with the 'real' Gil Grissom.
"You seem to have given this some thought." She said quietly, staring at the typed detailed list.
"Would it surprise you to learn I've thought about us a lot over the years?" He turned slightly, smiling when she just nodded a little.
"Well I have. Over the years I've come up with a dozen reasons not to act, but these last few days with you and Amy helped me see what I was missing and to realize that all my reasons were nothing more than pathetic excuses."
Sara remained silent unsure how to respond; she didn't know which bothered her more that he'd thought about them like that, yet never acted or that he could reverse his position on their relationship so suddenly.
"Shakespeare was right you know." He cupped her cheek, tilting her face so their eyes met. "He said, 'Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.' But I'm not afraid anymore Sara."
Her eyes fluttered closed, as a single tear escaped to be swiped away as his thumb caressed her cheek. Gil continued stroking her face barely grazing her skin as he slowly closed the distance between them. The inches turned to centimeters, until his lips settled on hers.
This smallest of contacts was a hint of what was to come, as they explored the differences between them; her lips were soft and slick, against his slightly rougher ones. The kiss was tender and romantic, but without the hesitancy she'd expected. When he pulled back she stared in his eyes, surprised at the depth of feeling she saw reflected there.
"Sweetheart, I know what I want to do about this now." His gaze shifted back to the lap top, but she was too distracted by how he kept rubbing his thumb back and forth over her left ring finger to focus on the screen.
"So how do you feel about getting married tomorrow evening before shift?"
"Tomorrow?" Looking at the screen she noticed he'd already filled in the first item: date and time of wedding. "Are you sure? I mean that soon?"
"Well the Paris hotel was able to squeeze us into a last minute cancellation of their twilight package. So we could have a small wedding on the observation deck, but there is a twelve guest limit."
Grissom toggled over to the website, looking at the photo of the bridal couple, with the lights of the strip twinkling in the background, Sara looked at him and smiled. "It sounds perfect."
Switching to a different page he opened the guest list he'd started. "Because of the guest limit we can't invite everyone, so I was just thinking just inviting the team and Brass to join Amy and our mothers for the ceremony and a dinner reception."
Sara smiled and nodded, it was exactly what she would have chosen and also felt right; they wouldn't be having a quickie Vegas ceremony, but creating a memory she would treasure for a lifetime. She watched him type the information into the line.
"I'm glad." Tapping the return key he scrolled down to the next line on his list. "I've got both a tux and a suit. So, it's your choice how formal it is. Which one do you prefer?"
Sara weighed the options; she loved seeing Grissom in his suit when he went to court, but could easily imagine how handsome he'd look in a tuxedo. As she tried to imagine walking down the aisle with him she was struck by how strong her desire to have him wear the formal black evening clothes. "Definitely the tux."
He'd seen the flare of desire when Sara made her pronouncement and nodded as he added it to the list.
"Will you need a dress?"
Sara sighed and nodded, she hated shopping, but there wasn't time to order it online. .
"Well Catherine could help with that if you'd like. I usually get her help, because she makes the whole process faster in the long run."
Pushing a lock of hair behind her ear, Sara thought about the idea. She didn't want to do it alone, that was the sort of task you did with friends and relatives, but her mother would be at work and Catherine was the closest thing she had to a girlfriend in Las Vegas, plus she was one of Gil's best friends. "I'll call and ask later. Anything else? Flowers, photographer, cake?"
"No. The wedding planner's already taken care of the rest."
"That's it?"
He smiled at her confused face and tapped the tip of her nose with his finger. "That's it, except for inviting everyone." Gil pointed out.
"Wow." Looking at her watch Sara bit her lip she really didn't want to go through this a bunch of times. "Well, I could call Mom and ask her to meet us at the apartment, that way we could tell her, Ginny and Amy all together. Then the team should be easy to catch together before shift."
"That sounds like a great plan Sweetheart. You make the call and I'll finish cleaning up the kitchen."
Sara watched him leave and tried to figure out what to tell her mother.